Being an only child, it has never been easy for me to open up to people. With a tendency to enjoy my own company more than that of others, if I claim to be close to someone, that person does hold an important place in my life. If sheer boredom drives me to take one of those random personality quizzes on the internet and if I am asked about how many friends I have, I can easily count them on one hand…the people I consider very, very, very close friends. Each of those very close friends have an important role in my life, and among them is also an ~A.

In set notation, in a universe with a single set A, ~A (A complement) represents all that is not included in A. Therefore A U ~A represents the universe itself. This is perhaps the most appropriate way to describe Mojo, a very dear friend, and myself.

Mojo and I met towards the end of the first year of university. She was the first person to greet me in the new place I had moved in to and that was also the start of a wonderful time. The first year was a formal experience for me but towards the second year, when we officially became roommates, sealed her fate as one of the people who would always be fooled and vexed by me. Throughout the rest of remaining three years, Mojo and I experienced a lot together and became an efficient and invincible team.

By the people around us, Mojo and I were described as complete opposites co-existing in the same place; a fact we wholeheartedly agreed on. While there were traits common to both Mojo and me, for most part we were different as night and day. If I was A, she was ~A. What worked for us was that we cherished this difference; there was always the other viewpoint available in a decision-making situation, the other solution to the problem, another reaction to an action. We realized this and perhaps this is why we were able to achieve such a deep bond.

As for me, Mojo is an irreplaceable person in my life; a person I consider one of my closest comrade, a person who pops up first in my mind when I need help with a decision or if I am stuck at a problem. She is a person I know I can call up in the middle of the night because of a petty problem (it’s another thing that she would be sleeping so soundly, she won’t even pick up the phone, but it’s the thought that counts…right?) Mojo is one of the rare people I can depend on completely and I am indeed blessed to have met her.

Reminiscing the time spent with Mojo, I often catch myself with the biggest smile on my face. Mojo had a habit of sleeping at odd places, in front of the TV on the couch in the common room, after which trying to get her back to the room would be an exciting task. I still remember her more-than-half-asleep state, in which she would greatly lean on me while I tried to call her consciousness; the way she would nod in understanding with closed eyes and fall back into deep slumber as soon as I returned. Then, there were the times when she would lay claim to my bed, irking me, and wanting me to use some sort of harmful tactics on her.

There were also the times we traveled through most of the city, often on foot, speeding through street after street in search of this or that. In such times, it was very probable that if she would hire a rickshaw, the chances of it breaking down in the middle of the journey were 99.9%. Yet, these broken vehicles and aching feet were just a reminder of the wonderful experience we underwent just a few hours ago.

Then there were times where we would often forget about classes the next morning and spend the whole night talking about things which held no value or relevance. There were also the mornings (which was every morning) when we would be rushing around trying to make it on time to class but never succeeding. Then there were exams filled with chilly weather, sofa cushions, music, cats and math notebooks. There were pets, movie nights, games, laughter-filled blackouts and so much more.

Mojo and I are complements. We represent A U ~A. As I think of words to describe her, I realize I do not possess sufficient knowledge for it. The importance Mojo holds in my life, the degree to which I value her, the words for these sentiments are still unavailable in my dictionary. Mojo is akin to family; a person I would go for advice, a person I would share my worries and happiness with, a person I would include in a life-altering decision, a person whose house I would visit in the middle of the night, without any qualms, with the sole intention of eating her food just because I am too lazy to prepare something at home. Of course, I would be left out to freeze, and starve, because she would be enjoying dreamland too much to open the door, but that is not relevant here.

Mojo appeared in front of me as just another person, but she managed to carve a niche, emphasize her importance and become a blessing in my life. A dear friend and precious confidant…

—–

This post was inspired by the Plinky prompt: Who knows you better than anyone else?